Por Qué Caminar en Fe Significa Hacerlo Aunque Tengas Miedo | Crossroads en Español

Have you ever dreamed of being a superhero? Maybe you're wondering, if you had a superpower, what would you do? Today, we're going to be exploring a little more about how God would like and could use you. But for that, we have to go and understand a little more about stories of origin. Stories where we can see how it all starts from the beginning, before you can even see these things at first glance, that we see on television, on the screen, or in the life of someone we admire. We see how God works with people patiently, in the darkness, where no one sees Him. And today, we're going to see our pastor, Chuck Mingo, to talk a little more about one of the stories of origin that has impacted me the most, the story of Gideon. This man, who is known for many of his feats, however, begins as a man who was afraid at the time of taking the step that God was inviting him. And maybe that's you. With a little doubt, let's see a little more and receive confidence from God. A story of origin is the part that no one talks about. Before trust and success, before anyone knows your name, they are false beginnings, mistakes, and total failure. It's the beginning. Every person you admire has one. The Bible could be the best story of origin ever told. It's a book about how God meets people at the beginning. At the beginning, God creates. At the beginning, humanity is made of dust. At the beginning, there is possibility, purpose, and relationship. Then, everything falls apart. But God reconstructs and unites humanity in restoration. The Bible is full of people who, over time, become known for virtues such as faith, courage, wisdom, and sacrifice. We call them heroes of faith.

But no one started there. The story of God is about meeting ordinary people in ordinary places and inviting them to be part of something extraordinary. Today's story is about Gideon, a fearful man who became a warrior. And this is the story, pay attention, of how. My life changed from top to bottom, what I never thought, and I became the prince of all, Bel-Air. In Philadelphia, I was born and raised. With a rubber mask and basketball, I was happy, always calm, no hurry, nothing, no school, installed in the FIACA. Suddenly, the thugs, I still ignore them because they were looking for problems and I faced them. My mother, scared, and very serious, said to me, Can you finish it? Look at that, look at that, look at that. Wow, could you wake me up at night, put a gun on me and rap that? I'll be alone. I'm Chuck, if we don't know each other. I'm a pastor at Crossroads. I started like this because it's fun, and because Will Smith tells a story of origin. And today, we are starting a new series called Stories of Origin. Our God is a God who does extraordinary things through ordinary people. And I'm very happy about that. Today we are going to hear about a guy named Gideon, who is one of those ordinary people. I don't know what comes to mind when you think of faith heroes. If you are like me, you probably think of people who, you know, seem to have been born with the right foot. They get up praying and go after God with everything. They never hesitate, they never doubt. And I want to tell you that whatever you have in mind as a biblical, prototypical leader,

that is not Gideon. That is not Gideon. And that's why I like his story, because Gideon is like me. Gideon is like us. He is an imperfect man. His way of following God is disordered. He does not always go up constantly. He is insecure many times, and yet God uses him to be part of his greater story. ¿Sabes que fuiste hecho para una historia mayor? ¿Sabes que incluso el desorden en tu vida, Dios quiere usarlo como parte de la historia más grande que quiere escribir en ti? Pero la pregunta es, ¿Dirás sí? ¿Dirás que sí? Así que hoy, espero ayudarnos a todos a aumentar nuestra fe en un Dios que nos invita a una historia más grande para que digamos que sí. Déjame orar mientras comenzamos. Dios, gracias por las historias. Gracias por tu historia que se está desarrollando en este mundo. Es una historia de redención. Es luz venciendo la oscuridad. Gracias por invitarnos a tu historia. Dios, hay gente aquí que duda de que existas. Puede haber personas escuchando en casa en este momento que no necesitan tu ayuda. necessarily are following everything I could say today. However, there are probably people here who do believe in you, but at this moment are struggling with their faith. Wherever we are, God,

I pray that you find us in the same way you found Gideon. I pray that you speak to us and call within us and outside of us who you thought we were. I pray this in the name of Jesus. Amen. So this new series is about people who acted with faith. What is faith in its simplest form? Faith is simply saying yes to God. But I'm going to give you the biblical definition of faith that comes from the book of Hebrews, the letter of the New Testament. And in Hebrews 11, 1, it defines faith in this way. Now, faith is the guarantee of what is expected, the certainty of what is not seen. If you want to break down faith into an equation, I would say that faith is this. Faith is belief multiplied by action. So you can be doing things, but if you do them with your own power, without being aware that you need a greater power, the power of God in your life, that is not faith. And in the same way, you can read the Bible from beginning to end and be able to quote the scriptures. But if you are not acting on what you read there and what God is calling you to do, that is not faith either. Faith is belief multiplied by action. A writer said, In Hebrew, there is not even a noun for the word faith. Faith is only expressed as a verb, because faith never exists apart from action. And this is the part that we can overlook.

It is not a straight line. Faith is never a straight line. It always has its twists and turns. A couple of years ago, Crossroads actually filmed a reality show. It was called Phantom Lake. And the premise of the program was that Brian was taking several novice writers, me being one of them, in a real challenge. Some would say it was treacherous, the road to discovery in Colorado, on a motorcycle. And none of us had done something like that before. And what that means is that while most people have to, you know, have their crises in private, I had to live it in public. And they were filmed from various angles. And I had a microphone all the time. So welcome to one of the hardest days of my life. I feel fear at heights and in these types of situations. For me, this journey is about seeing if I can overcome that fear. Will I be able to do more than I think? Can I overcome what I think is impossible? I want to be a role model for my children. I don't want them to have these fears. I want them to have an adventurous spirit and be open to new things. More, more. And good, let go here, right?

Okay. You want to stay there, okay? I was nervous about my direction then, okay? Cheer up. Get on. Stay there. Stay there. Stay there. Hey! Brad does a great job of cheering everyone up and trying to help people emotionally, and specifically Chuck, while he helps him climb the hill. We reached the top of the Corkscrew Pass. It's incredible. The view and the camaraderie are incredible. I wanted to grab everyone by the helmet and say, Come, I told you. The morale is very high. The energy is very high. The conviction that we can do it is very high. Without a doubt, it is a very emotional moment of the trip. I am very grateful to them. They encouraged me and gave me something that I did not have. And I just wanted to climb a happy mountain and I managed to climb this one. Kids, here dad. I'm not sure if I was going to record this, but I wanted to show you Table Mountain. It's the hardest thing I've ever done. And I didn't think I could do it. It was so difficult and I needed everyone's help. There were times when I wanted to give up and come back. When I wanted to give up, I fell off the bike 15 times a day, climbing the hill. Jim, when I thought about giving up, I thought of you, of you, Nathan, and of you, Sam, and of you, Isabel. And I don't want you to be people who give up. Because you can achieve amazing things with help, with the help of others and of God. I want to record this for you. Because I want you to know that I managed to get to the top of this mountain. You motivated me. I love you very much. I love you. I believe in you. I believe in what God does in your lives. I just want you to know that you climbed mountains. Dad climbed a mountain on a motorcycle, and you can do it too.

I love you, guys. I'm not crying. You're crying. I still think a lot about that because it was a big challenge. No, I don't know if the images do justice. But you know, to the right, that was death. It was death. So, without a doubt, mutilation and perhaps death. It was a challenge, and you're at a great height. So, you're breathing and breathing. And I think about that story because there are two ways to tell it, right? One way to tell it is, Hey, let me tell you about when I climbed one of the most difficult hills you can climb on a motorcycle. But as you know now, history has much more than that. There are many more twists and turns. There are many more ups and downs. There is frustration, pain, and difficulties. And I want you to know today that I think that's what it means to live a life of faith. Today's great idea is, Faith zigzags. Faith zigzags. If your life has more zigzags than a direct ascent, maybe don't do anything wrong. Maybe you're doing it right. We can learn from the story of Gideon. Let's see a little more about who he was. He lived in Israel at a time when they were under the oppression of a nation called Madian, the Madianites. And what that meant was economic oppression. Because every time the Israelites tried to cultivate to eat, the Madianites came and destroyed everything. There was economic oppression in the times of Gideon. There was also some family pain that was specific to his family, with which he was also dealing. And because of that, there was shame.

There was shame. In fact, we find Gideon hidden. This is how he arrives. This is how this hero enters the story. He is hidden in a lair. He is trying to cultivate food in a way that would not be revealed to the Madianites. Gideon is a nobody of nothing. Has anyone ever felt like that? God uses those that no one knows. He says, Be of the smallest tribe of Israel. And yet, this gift that no one has hidden in a lair is visited by an angel of the Lord who says this to him in Judges 6.12. The Lord is with you, brave warrior. Gideon says, What did you say? Do you see anyone else? Are you talking to me? That is where he says, I am of the smallest tribe. Gideon does not believe this, but this is the first zigzag of faith. Faith begins with a meeting. Faith is not about the value that you yourself gather. It is about responding to a God who begins with you. As I told you, Gideon was hidden. He was not sharpening his sword, waiting for God to choose him to be the liberator. No, no, no. He was hidden. He was not praying or fasting. He was not seeking God, but God was seeking Gideon. And wherever you are today, I want you to know that God is looking for you. He is looking for you. Do you know that you have a calling in your life? Do you know that you were created with a purpose in mind by the Creator Himself? And He wants to get that out of you, even if you don't see it in yourself.

Faith begins with an encounter. I have friends for whom I am excited because they are starting their paternity. One of them just announced that he and his wife are expecting a baby. It is a baby of honey moon. I am very happy for them. And I have another friend who is on maternity leave because he just had his first child. I love these kids and I love when people are parents. I am very excited, especially about paternity, because it is my unique experience. But I love it because any parent here knows that this is true. You were not born a great father. No one is born a great father. You become a great father. Right? But the potential is there from the beginning. I love it because this is how God looks at us. This is how God looks at Gideon. God says to Gideon, I see in you a powerful and brave man. And perhaps someone today needs to believe that God sees in you a faithful person. That God sees in you a winner. That God sees in you someone who will not let himself be limited by his past, but someone who can heal and grow from his past. God saw something in Gideon that Gideon did not see in himself. Was God unrealistic? Was God too optimistic? No. In reality, I would suggest that God is being radically realistic. Because when it comes to your calling, it does not matter the measure of man or woman. What matters is the power of the God who calls you. The word of God was worth more than that of Gideon. And here is the good news. It means more than the words that other people have told you.

Those who said that you would not be up to it. There is no way to be everything you want. There is no way that God will use you. If those are words that others have told you, faith is choosing to believe what God says about you. And not what others say about you. Ephesians 3.20 says the following. To the one who is powerful to do much more than we can imagine or ask. No matter how great and risky the prayer you have, God can do with it much more than we can imagine or ask. So you must ask yourself, what was the greatest enemy of Gideon? Was his greatest enemy the Midianites? The enemy from outside? Or was the greatest enemy of Gideon, the same that is usually our greatest enemy, the inner enemy? Our minds always cause us problems. When it comes to living faithfully to what God calls us to do. We can fall into two extremes. One is to think too well of ourselves. We can think that we have what is necessary. The Bible calls that pride. And it says that pride always precedes the fall. But on the other hand, we can think too little of our potential. And we can get caught up in shame or self-compassion and forget that what matters is not what we say, but what God says about us. Faith begins with a meeting. However, the following is that faith is not certainty. Faith is not certainty. People say, is doubt the opposite of faith?

I don't think so. I think doubt is part of faith. In fact, I will tell you this way. If you communicate your doubt to God, as we will see Gideon do. If you say to God, God, I'm not sure. God, I don't know. God, you have to help me with this. I would say that communicating your doubt is in itself an act of faith. It is an act of faith. It only ceases to be faith when you distance yourself from the conversation with God. And perhaps some of us are here today and we have done that. We have distanced ourselves from the conversation with God. Well, I have good news for you. God waits with open arms for you to return. He is waiting with open arms to involve you again in the conversation that you may have distanced yourself from. Gideon, man, this guy is doubtful. God calls him and he doubts. Have you heard the term Lux Maxing? It is the field of social networks right now. People trying to do sometimes unfortunate and painful things to be more beautiful, to be more handsome. Well, Gideon doesn't do Lux Maxing, but he does Doubt Maxing in this story. Let me tell you how Gideon responds to an angel who comes to him. But the Lord, replied Gideon, if the Lord is with us, how does all this happen to us? Where are all the wonders that our ancestors told us when they said, The Lord took us out of Egypt? The truth is that the Lord has forsaken us and has delivered us into the hands of Midian. Gideon says, forgive me, I know you are an angel. But I have a little difficulty trusting what you say when I look at the situation in my life. Isn't that real? Does anyone else struggle to trust God because life is difficult?

Maybe because there are a series of disappointments in what you are sure God called you to do? Victory has not come. And Gideon is honest in saying it. I had to learn this on my way with God. I can be emotionally honest with God. I don't know about you, but I grew up in my family. There were allowed emotions. You can express them. And there were emotions that were not allowed. Or at least I never saw them expressed in a healthy way. And I took them off the table because I thought, this could be bad. One was anger. And I absolutely cannot be angry with God. Oh my God, won't God throw a lightning bolt at me if I express anger towards Him? But let's be honest. Is there a close relationship where anger does not separate? Did you hear me cry in that video talking to Isabel, Sam, and Nathan? Those guys can make me angry. I love my children, but they can make me angry sometimes, right? Because there is a relationship of love there. I had to learn this about God. God is the most psychologically secure being in the universe. If there is someone you can express the fullness of your emotions to, it is God. Think about it. God already knows how you feel, so don't surprise Him. He never takes it personally. Isn't that great? He loves you no matter what. And He loves you enough to tell you the truth. That is the most psychologically secure being you can relate to.

And yet, He is kind and kind. And even though Gideon expresses his uncertainty, God does not destroy it. God allows Him to be reassured. That is the third thing. Faith allows tranquility. You may not have read the story of Gideon in the Bible, but you may have heard this term in the story of Gideon. Have you ever heard someone say, I'm going to wear a veil to see if I should do this or not? That comes from the story of Gideon. And I must repeat this, friends. Even though he was visited by an angel, isn't that crazy? Can you think about it? I believe that if God appeared with an angel, I would have more faith. I don't know, maybe not. I would think I could try a little harder. But no. Even though I see a physical angel, Gideon says, Okay, God, do you want me to do something for you? Well, I'm going to test you. I need you to do something for me. This is how it appears in Judges 6.36. Then Gideon said to God, If you are really going to save Israel through me, as you have said, I will put a cloth of wool on the earth. If the dew falls only on the cloth, and all the earth remains dry, then I will know that you will save Israel through me, as you have promised. And so it happened.

The next morning Gideon got up early, squeezed out the cloth, and filled a cup with the water of the dew. God did much more than he had asked. What does Gideon do? He says, Great God, I just need one more time. Do it one more time. Then Gideon said to God, Do not be angry with me. Let me do one more test with the cloth. This time let only the cloth remain dry, and all the earth be covered with dew. And so God did that night. Only the cloth remained dry, while all the earth was covered with dew. I have to tell you, this does not sound like a brave warrior. This does not sound like someone we should see as an example of faith. At some point you wonder if God thinks, maybe I was wrong about man. Man, I must continue, right? But we can judge Gideon for testing God, but we do not test him all the time. We do. That's how it sounds. Good God, if the work comes on Friday, I will accept it. Right? Has anyone done that? How about this?

God, if the medical results come out clean, I will return to the church. Some are here for clean results. Praise God. I'm glad you're back. Welcome. We are glad to have you back. Good. Maybe it doesn't resonate with you. How about this? God, if there is no fila in Chick-fil-A, it means I have to buy the pepper sandwich and a shake. Someone clap because you tested God this way this week. We test God all the time. How about this? God, if the Target parking lot is available, it means you want me to buy that $40 candle that I don't need. Some of you test God this way. I understand. I understand. How about this? Good God, if she likes my Snapchat in five minutes, basically we are committed. I mean, we test God all the time. We test God all the time. And listen to this. I think it means something. God allows us to be in conversation in our faith journey. He accepts the zigzags of our faith. 11, uno define la fe.

Unos versículos después, dice lo siguiente. En realidad, sin fe es imposible agradar a Dios, ya que cualquiera que se acerca a Dios tiene que creer que Él existe y que recompensa a quienes lo buscan. Mira, quiero que escuches esto. Está bien necesitar reafirmación siempre y cuando nos acerquemos a Dios. A Dios le importa mucho más la postura y la trayectoria de tu corazón que donde te encuentres en este momento. En este momento, podrías tener miedo. En este momento, podrías estar frustrado. En este momento, podrías estar entumecido. En este momento, podrías estar enojado. Dios no te juzga por dónde estás en este momento, pero te pide que te acerques, que tu corazón se dirija hacia Él y no lejos de Él. Y es tan importante que sigamos acercándonos porque, no te pierdas esto, la fe tiene una fecha límite para la duda. Llega un punto en que Dios dirá, es hora de moverse. Llega un momento donde tu renuencia y duda para confiar en Dios hará que cosas no sucedan en tu vida que podrían pasar si confiaras en Dios. Sin importar lo que pienses de Michael Jackson, tuvo problemas, pero fue un cantante y compositor prolífico.

Y una cosa que dijo una vez es esto, dijo, siento que debo recibir estas canciones porque si no, Dios podría dárselas a Prince. Podría haber tenido razón. Podría haber estado en lo cierto. En serio. Vemos esto en la historia de Gedeon. En algún momento, Gedeon tiene que moverse. Es interesante cómo se desarrolla en su historia. Gedeon debe enfrentar a un ejército de 135 mil medianitas. Ahora no he ido a la escuela de guerra. No tengo experiencia militar. No soy un experto en estrategia de guerra, pero las matemáticas simples me dirían que probablemente es mejor si tengo más soldados que el enemigo. Bueno, Gedeon debe enfrentar a estos 135 mil soldados con solo 32 mil. Lo siento, pero eso no cuadra. Pero nuestro Dios es fiel y nuestro Dios es más que suficiente. ¿Cómo cerrará Dios esa brecha entre 135 mil y 32 mil? ¿Cómo cerrará Dios esa brecha de 103 mil? ¿Sabes lo que hará? Reducirá drásticamente los números de Gedeon aún más. ¿Qué? ¿Qué? Eso es lo que pasa.

Primero, esto sucede. En jueces 7-3, Gedeon dice, el que tenga miedo, que regrese a su casa, que se retire del monte de Galad. Ahora podrías pensar que el 10% se iría, lo que les deja con una fuerza de tamaño decente. No, 22 mil de los 32 mil dijeron, adiós, nos vemos, me voy, me voy. Y esto es sobre los que corrieron a casa. Podrían haber salvado sus vidas, pero ¿sabes qué? Perdieron la victoria. Me pregunto, si hay cosas que podrían ser tuyas, que no son tuyas porque no confiaste en Dios. Me pregunto si hay oportunidades que podrías estar aprovechando ahora mismo, relaciones en las que podrías estar ahora mismo, formas en que la sanación y el crecimiento han ocurrido. Podrías estar al otro lado de cosas con las que luchas ahora, pero porque no confiaste lo suficiente en Dios, sigues en ese lugar. Esa es una realidad que me hace reflexionar mucho y en la que pienso todo el tiempo. Tengo un amigo que es autor, ha escrito algunos libros. Dijo que había un libro que sintió que Dios lo llamó a escribir, pero por miedo, duda o lo que fuera, no escribió el libro. Dijo, años después vi el libro en Amazon.

Alguien más lo escribió. Y Dios le recordó, yo te lo entregué a ti. Me pregunto hoy si existe algo que Dios ha puesto en tus manos. Me pregunto si hay algo en lo que Dios desea que te involucres. Gedeon tuvo que sentir miedo sin duda alguna cuando Dios tomó a los 10,000 restantes y los redujo a 300 contra 135,000. Pero Gedeon nos da una lección sobre la fe que tú y yo debemos conocer y es esta, la fe se mueve con miedo. La fe avanza con miedo. Amigos, a veces hay que hacerlo con miedo. A veces debes hacerlo con lo que posees. Me encantan las palabras de Dios para Gedeon en Jueces 6, 14. Él dice, Gedeon, ve con la fuerza que ya tienes. Sí, sé que quisieras tener más recursos antes de iniciar ese negocio, pero Dios te dice, ve con la fuerza que tienes. Sí, sé que quisieras tener más tiempo para prepararte para el camino de la paternidad, pero Dios dice, ve con la fuerza que tienes. Sé que sientes que debes tener todo en orden antes de ir a fondo con Jesús, pero no, Jesús te dice, ven a Él con la fuerza que tienes. No sé que sea, pero Dios dice que a veces hay que hacerlo con miedo. A veces hay que hacerlo con miedo. You have to do it before your friends approve it.

Sometimes you have to do it before your parents agree. Sometimes you have to forgive before you feel ready to forgive. Sometimes you need to ask for forgiveness before you feel ready to ask for it. Sometimes you and I have to do it with fear, but this is the good news. Maybe they call you to do it with fear, but you'll never, never, never have to do it alone. Te daré la promesa que Dios le da a Gedeon dos versículos después. Tras decir, ve con tu fuerza, dice, yo estaré contigo. Amigos, ¿puedo ser honesto? Eso es todo lo que necesitas. Eso es todo, es saber que Dios está contigo. Volviendo al video que vimos, escuchaste a Brian hablar de Brad. Brad era el tipo que me estaba curando en el video. Brad era el tipo que cuando estaba demasiado débil y cansado para levantar mi moto, la levantó por mí. Brad era quien viste con su brazo sobre mí, dándome ánimos. Brad era quien estaba a mi lado guiándome cuando el miedo me hizo olvidar cómo usar el embrague de la motocicleta. Dios, él trajo a Brad para estar a mi lado, y esto es lo que necesito que sepas. Necesito que sepas que Dios te ama tanto. Él cree tanto en lo que depositó en ti, que no solo envió a un ser humano. Él mismo vino en la persona de Jesús, el humano perfecto. Y también Dios para vivir una vida que tú y yo nunca podríamos vivir. Para morir la muerte que tú y yo merecemos. Para que podamos saber que cuando la vida zigzaguea, tenemos a Jesús de nuestro lado. Tenemos a Jesús envolviéndonos con su brazo, diciendo que todo estará bien. Tenemos a Jesús entrenándonos cuando olvidamos cómo usar el embrague de una moto. Tenemos a Jesús cuando tenemos miedo. Tenemos a Jesús cuando estamos enojados. Tenemos a Jesús cuando estamos en la cima de la montaña. Tenemos a Jesús cuando estamos en el valle, porque Dios cree tanto en ti. Que quiso prepararte para hacerlo con miedo. Y esto es, cuando das un paso de fe y haces lo que Dios te llamó a hacer, la fe le da la gloria a Dios, no a nosotros.

¿Puedo ser honesto contigo? Gedeon no es el héroe. Dios es el héroe. Y adivina qué, Dios es el héroe de tu historia. Para algunos, la razón de dónde los tiene Dios, y te pide que hagas aquello que te aterra, es porque no sabes el impacto en los demás. No sabes cómo otros dirán, oye, ¿sabes qué? Me interesa este Dios. Si él fue fiel contigo en esa enfermedad, quizás pueda confiarle mis cosas. No sabes el legado que podrías estar estableciendo ahora mismo, para hijos que quizás ni siquiera han nacido todavía que vas a tener. Mientras caminas en un viaje fiel con Dios, nunca se sabe. Pero eres parte de una historia mayor. Dios quiere que seas parte. Dios rescató a Israel de ciento treinta y cinco mil, con trescientos hombres armados con linternas y trompetas. Pero es para que Dios recibiera la gloria. De hecho, cuando lo celebran, lo dicen de esta manera en jueces 7-18, por el Señor y por Gedeon. Y creo que el orden importa. Es importante saber que la gloria es del Señor. Pero no olvides esto. Dios recompensa la fe. Gedeon fue recompensado. Volvamos a Hebreos 11-6. Dice, sin fe es imposible agradar a Dios, porque quien se acerca a él debe creer que existe y que recompensa. Todos digan recompensa. Él recompensa a quienes lo buscan. He aprendido que hay tantas cosas cuando se trata de seguir a Dios que recibimos por gracia.

O sea, no lo ganamos. No trabajamos por ello. No es por nuestro esfuerzo. Es lo que Dios nos da gratis. El rescate del pecado, Jesús muriendo en la cruz por nosotros, para que no debamos enfrentar el pecado y el infierno en la tumba. Eso es algo que recibimos como un regalo. El don del Espíritu Santo, la esencia misma de Dios viviendo en nosotros, animando nuestros pensamientos, acciones, vida y amor. Es un regalo gratuito que recibimos. Increíble. Ser parte de esta familia llamada iglesia, y no hablo de un edificio físico, ni siquiera me refiero solo a Crossroads. Me refiero a que donde sea que la gente en el mundo invoque el nombre de Jesús, no es como si fuera su hermano. No, realmente somos hermanos y hermanas. Ese es un regalo que recibimos. Y hay algunas cosas cuando se trata de seguir a Dios que no recibirás si no actúas. Hay algunas cosas que tienes que obtener, como dice la Biblia. Hay aspectos de Dios que no conocerás si no confías en Él. Si nunca confías en que Dios es tu proveedor, no sabrás que Él provee. Si no confías en Dios como Redentor, no sabrás que Él redime. If you don't trust God as a healer, you won't know that He can heal, only if you act. Remember, what is faith? Belief multiplied by action. Only when we move, do we experience those things. And here's the good part. God searches for people.

He searches for those hidden in lairs. He searches for those trapped in addictions. He searches for those who struggle with their fear. He searches for those trapped in their anger. He searches for those who struggle with their doubts. God continues to search for partners to be part of the great story that He is writing. So I'll leave you with two questions. They are questions that you can apply when thinking about the story of Gideon, but you can also apply them every week in this series. I think this is the conversation that I want you to have with God every week in this series. Question number one, am I locatable? Can God find me? Yes, Gideon was hiding, but once the angel of the Lord came to him, he began to participate. Yes, in a clumsy way. Yes, needing the veil twice. Yes, in his fearful hesitation, but he was interacting with God. You have to ask yourself, am I locatable by God or am I running away from Him? Ask, reflect, and fight with it. Here is the second question. Will you say yes to the next step? Just after this service, I spoke with a man who struggles with the community and with pain in his life. As we spoke and prayed, we identified a next step. I said, friend, you don't need to know everything, just that. I wish I could tell you that by following Jesus, He will reveal to you the beginning and the end of your life. You will know the steps from 1 to 25. Whoever follows Jesus for five minutes knows that it is not true. If you trust in Him with the next step, He will reveal the next. And the next step, and the next, and the next.

And with time, you will look at your life and you will realize, oh my God, look at this zigzag trip that has taken me to the place that God always intended to take me to. Will you say yes to the next step? Faith is the same as belief. By action, and by saying yes to God, you are part of the great stories of your life. Let us pray. God, help us in this series to deepen. I believe that a story, perhaps Gideon for some, Joseph for others, or the ones we will see later, will be key. There will be a story that will say, oh, that is for me. And so I just pray that we are open to what it is that you want to tell us. That we hear your voice. That you find us. And let's take the next step. And I pray this in the name of Jesus. Amen. Before we say goodbye, I want to encourage you to take the next step. Don't let this message be left alone in something you heard. Let God do something with you in your life. Maybe that step will be opening your Bible this week. Maybe it will be taking a few minutes to speak with God in prayer. Maybe it will be forgiving, or asking for forgiveness, or simply saying yes to what God is putting in front of you today. If you feel the desire to grow more, to positively influence others, or simply discover how God can use you, we want to invite you to ACTIVA. It is a course of four sessions, all virtual,

designed to help you grow in your relationship with Jesus. To better understand the heart of our church, and to develop the leadership that God is already forming in you. You don't have to look at yourself as a leader to participate. You don't have to be perfect. Let's look at all these stories that we are discussing during this series. If you have the desire to continue growing and serving others, ACTIVA is for you. We would love to, together with people like you, invite you to this space, to collaborate and grow, to see what God wants to do through you in your life. So you can write to us at hola.crossroads.net to share more information about our next session. It is a pleasure to have you here, and we look forward to hearing from you.